Promote & Preserve stories of U.S. fallen soldiers/sailors
Luis M. Gonzalez, age 27, from South Ozone Park, New York, New York City county.
Service era: Afghanistan
Military history: 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington
Date of death: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Death details: Died in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
George Andrew Wood, age 33, from New York, New York, New York county.
Service era: Iraq
Military history: Company B, 1St Battalion, 67Th Armor Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas
Date of death: Thursday, November 20, 2003
Death details: Hostile; Ba’ Qubah, Iraq
Source: Department of Defense, Military Times
Kenneth John Butcher, age 26, from New York City, New York, Kings county.
Parents: George (preceded in death)
Spouse: Lee
Service era: Grenada
Date of death: Sunday, October 23, 1983
Death details: Killed in Grenada
Cemetery: Memorialized at Long Island National
Source: White House Commission on Remembrance, Seals in Action by Kevin Dockery, Newsday (1983)
Donald Charles Breuer from New York City, New York
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: November 20, 1972
Death details: On November 20, 1972, an F-4J Phantom II (bureau number 153849, call sign “Motion 05-2”) with a crew of two took part in a two-plane combat mission over Laos. While pulling up from a bomb pass over the target, the Phantom was hit by anti-aircraft artillery fire. The pilot ejected and, after landing, made radio contact with the Forward Air Controller (FAC) and the flight leader. A search and rescue (SAR) mission extracted the pilot, but the Phantom’s second radar intercept officer could not be located.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Robert Murray Laird, age 33, from New York City, New York .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Sunday, February 13, 1972
Death details: Non-hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Isadore Jenkins, age 19, from New York City County New York City, New York .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, December 11, 1971
Death details: Non-hostile, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Jose Maldonado, age 28, from New York City, New York .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Monday, November 1, 1971
Death details: Non-hostile, illness, South Vietnam. Died in a military vehicle accident.
Cemetery: Greenwood in Fort Worth, Texas
Source: National Archives, Fort Worth Star Telegram 91971)
Luther Burnett Jr. Ward, age 19, from New York City, New York .
Parents: Hester Ward
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, October 30, 1971
Death details: Non-hostile, illness, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives, Associated Press (1971)
Jimmy Lawrence Haynes, age 28, from New York City, New York .
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, October 29, 1971
Death details: Non-hostile, illness, South Vietnam
Source: National Archives
Sanford Ira Finger, age 29, from New York City, New York.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Tuesday, October 26, 1971
Death details: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Sanford I. Finger, 29, killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for Aug. 23, 2022. In October 1971, Finger was assigned to the U.S. Army Element Vietnam, Army Air Force Regional Exchange, Pacific Exchange (Manager of the An Son Post Exchange), U.S. Army Headquarters Area Command. On Oct. 26, Finger was lost when the CH-47B Chinook helicopter on which he was a passenger went down over water in bad weather while flying from Tuy Hoa to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam. Remains of four of the 10 Soldiers on board were recovered during search and rescue operations following the crash, but Finger was not accounted for.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency